Dear Mr. Donnie Walsh

Dear Donnie Walsh,

First off, congratulation on a fantastic season. I understand you may be disappointed that your Knicks sputtered in the last two months of the season. Yes, it would have been nice if you guys had made a run at the eight seed in the East and got clobbered by LeBron and the Cavs as 20,000 fans in MSG showered LBJ with chants of "2010!".

However,  Chris Duhon, a career backup, could not handle the grind as a starting point guard; he averaged seven assists a game in the first five months of the season, and just five per game in the last two months.

In large part because of his breakdown,you find yourself picking eighth in the draft. Mr. Walsh let me stress to you how important this pick is to the future of the franchise.

With this pick you will be adding a vital building block to budding contributors Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari. I am not ready to call them stars yet,  too many young Knickerbockers have fizzled under the bright lights of the city. However, the two of them certainly showed flashes of excellence under Coach D'Antoni.

On top of that you have two phenomenal sparks off the bench in David Lee and Nate Robinson. Let me stress that again, they are sparks off the bench. I know that all of New York loves these two, myself included.

However, they would be far more effective if they came in for short spurts and did a heavy amount of damage because they are such high energy players. Imagine a team's second unit trying to stop that inside-out combo? You guys would certainly win a lot of second quarters. 

Also, you do want free agent to WANT to play in New York right? With another enticing piece, you could make New York one of the most desirable places for superstars looking for a new home. 

Now the pick has to be a guard. Why is that? Well its simple really. After Blake Griffin, I really don't see any other big men who I are even surefire starters five years down the road. On top of that, the unrestricted free-agent big men in the 2010 draft class include Dirk Nowitzki, Amare Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Kendrick Perkins, and Yao Ming.

I'd say that I'd rather take my chances on those five than on Hasheem Thabeet, a 7'3'' beanstalk who Dejuan Blair (6'8'' in platforms) dominated TWICE. 

Its not like you could really get Thabeet without trading up anyway. If you decide to trade up,  the entire city would probably riot if you didn't pick Ricky Rubio, the Spanish wunderkind in the form of "Pistol" Pete Maravich; but let's be realistic, the odds of trading up are low. So as we New Yorkers would say, "fuggadaboutit."

So that brings us to the guards who you actually can reasonably think about getting. The list includes DeMar Derozan, Gerald Henderson, Jrue Holliday, Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, and Jonny Flynn.

Odds are that of those seven guards, two will be snatched up by the time you pick. However, lets start poking holes in some of the players. 

DeMar DeRozan (6'7", Fr.,G, USC) decided he wasn't even going to show up until the end of the regular season for USC when he realized, "Oh crap, my draft stock is plummeting, if I don't play well now I could lose millions."

While a good showing in the Pac-10 tournament bumped his stock back up, it is troubling that he seemingly turned a switch on to play well. It really is a knock on his passion for the game, and that something the team doesn't need. 

Gerald Henderson (6'4", Jr., G, Duke) has a few red flags. First he's very small. He's a 6'4'' shooting guard, something that doesn't work unless you can shoot the lights out or are named Michael Jordan. Henderson's shooting touch can be described as streaky at best (33.6 percent from three).

He also is turnover prone (2.2 per game). Playing out of control in Coach K's system is like a slutty girl who goes to a strict Catholic high school. Mike D'antoni's offense is more like a wild college party, and one you let the slutty Catholic girl loose at one of those parties, there really is no telling how many guys she'll wind up bringing home.

Ridiculous analogies aside, too much freedom will probably lead to Gerald Henderson making a great deal of poor decisions and killing the Knicks on offense. 

Jrue Holliday (6'4", Fr.,G, UCLA) would be a pick based purely on raw talent. He put up very mediocre numbers his freshman year with the Bruins (8.5 ppg, 3.7 apg).

If he couldn't do it against a weak Pac-10, why do you think he'll do it against NBA guards? Yes, he does possess very good size for a point guard, but is he really even a point guard?

His 1.72 Assist to Turnover ratio is unacceptable compared to other point guards in the draft like Jonny Flynn (1.97). The last team a team even made the NBA finals with a PG/SG was in 2001 when Allen Iverson carried the 76ers through a weak Eastern Conference.

In D'Antoni's system, the starting point guard needs to be able to distribute effectively and efficiently like Steve Nash did. Holliday seems incapable of following in Nash' footsteps. 

Brandon Jennings (6'1", G, USA) was the first U.S. high schooler to play one year in Europe before entering the NBA draft. Jennings seems to fit well into the offense you're trying to run, Mr. Walsh. He's quick, he can dish, and he's wildly athletic. If Jennings winds up in a New York uniform next year, I doubt that fans will have much to complain about.

However, he's very small (170 pounds) and the wear and tear of such a high octane offense could cause him to break down like Duhon did this year. On top of that, he will have to take a beating, because most of his scoring opportunities will come from close to the basket due to his poor shooting touch. 

Tyreke Evans (6'5", Fr., G, Memphis) is an absolute animal. Tigers coach John Calipari moved Evans over to the point after a loss to Syracuse in December. Memphis didn't lose a game again until they were knocked out in the NCAA tournament.

At 6'5" Evans' size is not a concern no matter where he plays. One MAJOR concern is how turnover prone he was in the high octane system Memphis ran. His 3.6 turnovers per game would be a thorn in Mike D'antoni's side. His inconsistent shooting wouldn't put D'antoni at ease either. 

Stephen Curry (6'3", Jr., G, Davidson) seems to be your favorite player at this spot. He electrified the entire country two years ago with his performance in March. Curry took the Wildcats to the elite eight before bowing out to eventual champion Kansas. However, this season was a bit of a different story for Curry.

Curry moved over to the point guard position on a far weaker Davidson team. Without point guard Jason Richards, teams keyed on Curry, and his shooting percentage dropped (48.3 FG % and 44 3P% to 45.4 FG% and 38.7 3P%).

While his scoring and assists jumped up, it is disconcerting that Curry wasn't able to take over games against the likes of the College of Charleston and Butler.

Curry lacks the size to be a true shooting guard and may never be a pure point guard. He is similar to Allen Iverson, but lacks Iverson's tenacity and ability to finish around the basket over larger opponents.

LeBron Jame's affinity for Curry's game is a plus, but it isn't worth picking a player who may only be a solid shooter who can contribute off the bench, similar to JJ Redick. 

Jonny Flynn (6'0", So., PG, Syracuse) is really the guy you should pounce on if he's available. No one faced better competition than Flynn night in and night out. The Big East proved to be one of the best conferences in recent memory, taking three of the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament.

Yes, I understand that his shooting touch is inconsistent, but he has solid form, and with practice should improve on that. Aside from that, he really is in the mold of a more athletic Steve Nash.

He has one of the quickest first steps in the country, and slices defenses as if he were a Billy Mays Samurai Shark Knife. His penetration into the middle of the defense will give open looks to everyone and should make everyone's life much easier.

Furthermore, he is used to playing under pressure. Just look at what he did in Madison Square Garden last March. Flynn lead the Orange to a thrilling six OT win over UConn, and then came back the next night and beat West Virginia in overtime.

While, Cuse's bid for a Big East Championship came up short against Louisville, Flynn's phenomenal play earned him Tournament MVP honors. 

Flynn has shown his ability to play at a break neck pace long stretches of time without wearing down. That is something that Chris Duhon does not possess. On top of that, his flair for the game and infectious smile will make him an instant fan favorite.

D'Antoni's up tempo system combined with Flynn's play making ability should put him in the running for Rookie of the Year honors.

There is also one more thing about Flynn. He happens to be represented by a Mr. Leon Rose, best friend and agent to none other than LeBron James. If you're thinking about LBJ in NYC in 2010, I think it would be in your best interest to cozy up to one of Lebron's most trusted friends. 

Well that's about all I got. Remember, the fate of New York basketball is in your hands. No pressure.